


Chances

by amaryllis (Lilly0)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, BAMF Natasha Romanov, Bruce Banner Feels, Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, Bruce Needs a Hug, Eventual Romance, F/M, Feelings, Feels, Friendship/Love, Hulk Needs a Hug, Idiots in Love, Love, M/M, Natasha Romanov Feels, POV Natasha Romanov, Protective Natasha Romanov, Romance, Steve Feels, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Steve Rogers Feels, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-24 11:28:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14953826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilly0/pseuds/amaryllis
Summary: (Set during Infinity War, contains spoilers!)Natasha Romanov seeks comfort in the arms of a man, and likes it. The irony of it all, she thinks.(contains mentions of Steve/Tony)





	Chances

**Author's Note:**

> I'll say it again to be safe: Contains spoilers of IW.  
> This is set when Natasha and Bruce meet again in IW.

Natasha didn’t think she would see Bruce again. Though, if she is being honest, really honest… that’s wrong. Thinking back now, she knew she would see him again at one point, but it was a distant thought, just something her subconscious knew, but never brought to the surface of her actual mind.

 

Of course Bruce Banner would return one day.

 

Of course she wasn’t ready.

 

Natasha Romanov is always ready for everything, but not to see the man again, she didn’t even have a relationship with.

 

~~~

 

Steve is still in the kitchen, obviously lost in his thoughts while eating some yoghurt. “You okay?” Natasha asks.

 

How long has it been since they arrived here, in the Avengers headquarters? How long were they hiding? Was it worth it, she thinks. Worth it to leave everything behind because they decided it was the _right_ thing to do? Was it worth it? Was it? She doesn’t know, still not, but she is not one to linger too long on such thoughts. Unlike Steve. He likes to linger – the more difficult a thought, the better.

 

It’s not like she can’t understand why he feels the way he does. She didn’t have sex with Bruce and then battled him. Her story is different to Steve’s. There has to be a lot going through his mind, being back here, but with Tony missing.

 

Steve lets the spoon drop into his bowl. “He is out there, Natasha.”

 

“Who?” she asks although she knows who he is talking about.

 

“Tony is floating around in the universe,” he says, sounds almost angry. “And not even Jarvis can tell where. There is no signal reaching him. Nat, I know some people call him self-centred and arrogant, but without him, without him doing and handling this base here, the biggest protector of this city is gone.” He pauses. “Besides, he is up there and I don’t know if...” he pauses, his voice trailing off.

 

…if he is coming back, Natasha adds in her mind, her throat feeling dry all of a sudden. She hugs Steve from behind, squeezing his shoulders slightly.

 

“Had I known that this would happen, I would have talked to him before,” Steve pauses. “Just talked to him. Now I don’t know if I’ll ever have the chance again.”

 

“You will,” she says with confidence. “Steve, that’s Tony we are talking about. He is one of the most strong-headed people out there, he is lucky and he is smart. He knows what he does or how to save himself. If he is not going to make it, we’ll probably not make it either.”

 

~~~

 

Bruce stands at the huge glass window, which is opening the view to the outside world and to the destruction the last attack of Thanos’ minions left. “Nat,” he says, not even turning around, and she wonders how he even felt her presence. She can hide well normally, can avoid it to be seen if she wants to. But Bruce, it seems, just felt her.

 

She is not sure how to feel about this thought. But it is…nice.

 

Natasha joins him, out of the corner of her eyes scanning him. He looks tired, almost like he aged a bit. And confused. “Bruce,” she starts carefully. “For the last two years. Where have you been?”

 

Bruce sighs. “I don’t even know, Nat. Only when I met Thor… that’s what I can remember. But most of the time-“ he pats his own chest. “-it was the other guy out there, and I just-“ He pauses, sighing tiredly. “-can’t quite remember. He didn’t let me back into my body again.”

 

She has failed him, she knows she did. He wanted to leave with her, yet she had to force Hulk out of him again. And now it seems the Hulk took over and Bruce was locked in for almost two years.

 

Seems like both she and Steve aren’t lucky with their love. She is not sure if they are just bad at it or without luck.

 

Deep inside she thinks it’s both.

 

“Stop with that, Natasha,” Bruce smiles at her. He is a quiet man, composed, and she knows why. He doesn’t want to lose control. “It’s not your fault. Nothing is your fault.” He shrugs. “Without you, I would still be the other guy now.”

 

“Oh stop it.” She chuckles half-heartedly.

 

“It’s true,” he says. There is no teasing in his words, no lie in his eyes.

 

She wants to say so much more, ask him if his offer is still up that they can disappear and settle down once everything is over, if he still sees her the same way as before, if there is any chance for them left. “Do you think we’ll make it out alive?”

 

Bruce looks torn. “I don’t know. But Nat-“ he smiles. “At the same time I have so many more things to do. I can’t just give up.”

 

~~~

 

“Natasha?” Steve asks when she walks back into the kitchen. She takes a glass, filling it with scotch before taking a spoon and sitting down next to Steve, taking a spoon-full of the yoghurt he is still eating.

 

“We suck,” she states in a matter-of-fact tone.

 

He blinks at her in confusion. She can’t blame him. Really.

 

“We could have had it all, you know?” She licks at her spoon tentatively. “But we are so much in our own heads that…” Her voice trails off. “Work comes first, family and friends second, am I right Cap?”

 

He nods, carefully though, like he is not really convinced by it.

 

“Why do I feel like shit then?”

 

~~~

 

They need to get Vision to Wakanda before Thanos attacks them right here and they won’t face a chance. They might still be able to save him. Maybe. Natasha knows what Vision is thinking. He is just not saying anything because of Wanda, because he loves her. While he is happy that they want to save him, he is also thinking they are selfish.

 

They are going to put it all on line just to save him. And it doesn’t sit well with him.

 

Natasha knows he is right, but she also knows she can’t ask of Wanda to do what she did, and what Steve did. They sacrificed it all, and yet while they should feel like they did the right thing, it feels like they failed.

 

Maybe they will lose it all, maybe it’s going to be a mistake, but she wants to give it a try first before giving up.

 

~~~

 

 

“You are still awake?”

 

She has been strolling through the rooms for hours now, not even realizing how much time has passed. “You too?”

 

Bruce shrugs. “I can’t sleep,” he admits.

 

“Me neither.” She looks at him thoughtfully, then she reaches out her hand, grabbing his. When he looks at her in surprise, she chuckles. “Might be the last chance we have,” she says lightly while her words weigh heavily.

 

Bruce nods and suddenly she is in his arms. She is not the type of woman men would normally just hold in their arms, mainly because they think she is too tough, wouldn’t like it, wouldn’t need it.

 

But Bruce is different.

 

 

~~~

 

 

“I’m yours,” he says, like the last two years didn’t happen, like she didn’t push him down to make the Hulk appear. “Natasha, don’t worry.”

 

Natasha’s Bruce. She likes how this sounds.

 

She straddles his hips, getting rid of her top while she does so. She smirks. “Your other self won’t be appearing just because you have sex, will he?”

 

Bruce laughs, and it’s then that she realizes that he doesn’t laugh a lot. She likes it though that there is a side to him he only shows her. “It’s safe,” he says.

 

“Good,” she smiles. “Because there is no way I would have stopped now.”

 

She is not sure if there has ever been a man who touched her like Bruce did, his arms around her, his hands on her skin, lips roaming her body, tasting her skin, exploring every inch. Like her body is a temple. He treats her like she is special. And fuck, does she like it.

 

Natasha Romanov seeks comfort in the arms of a man, and likes it. The irony of it all, she thinks.

 

 

~~~

 

They have almost reached Wakanda and Natasha has glued her eyes to the horizon, wondering if they will have enough time to save Vision.

 

“You look better, Nat,” Steve comments.

 

Natasha smiles. “When you see Tony again, you have to make things right between you again. It’s worth it.”

 

“If.” The expression on his face gets darker. Something close to depressed. “You mean, if I see him again.”

 

“No, I meant exactly what I said.” She nods firmly. “And then, don’t chicken out, Steve.”

 

She leaves him alone to give him some time to think. The Cap needs to have his mind at the right place, at a good place. Aside of that she truly believes in what she said. Tony is not going to die just like that. It’s Iron Man after all. There were many chances for him to die already, but he hasn’t, so why should he start now?

 

“Hey, curious about Wakanda?” She smiles when she joins Bruce. He looks around a bit, checking their surroundings. She chuckles. “No one is around.”

 

“Good,” he says, putting an arm around her waist and pulls her closer. “So… Wakanda, right?”

 

She smiles in amusement, leaning closer to Bruce to feel some of his warmth. “Want me to tell you about it?”

 

He sighs in relief, so openly that it touches her heart. He is Natasha’s Bruce after all.


End file.
